Nagpur:
A male tiger, which was captured earlier this month after it killed five people in the Tadoba Andhari Reserve area, died at a rescue centre in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on Monday, 11 days after it was shifted to the facility, forest officials said. A senior official said septicaemia appears to be the prima facie cause behind the adult tiger’s death.
The tiger, officially called KT-1, earlier used to move in and around the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district, located about 140 km from Nagpur. It had killed five people on separate occasions in the last five months in Kolara, Bamangaon and Satara villages located near TATR.
The last such incident was reported on June 6, following which it was tranquilised and captured near the Kolara forest range, a forest official said. “The Maharashtra Chief Wildlife Warden gave permission for its capture on June 8. The tiger was tranquilised on June 10, and shifted to Gorewada Rescue Centre in Nagpur on June 11. It died on Monday,” the official said.
The tiger was quarantined at the enclosure 5 of the Gorewada rescue centre, stated a release issued by Divisional Manager, Gorewada Project. “The tiger showed poor appetite since arrival and failed to acclimatise to captive life,” it said.
A team of experts of Wildlife Research & Training Centre (WRTC), Gorewada, was treating the big cat. “The tiger was, however, alert and active, and showed no signs of any core illness. But in the early hours of June 22, the tiger was noticed in distress by forest guards at 6.45 am,” it stated.
When a team of veterinarians reached the animal holding facility, they found KT-1’s response was “feeble” response to touch and twitch. “The animal was declared dead at 7 am,” it stated. “The big cat was then brought to Gorewada Rescue Centre hospital to examine the cause of its sudden (death) and postmortem examination was conducted,” it stated.
“Prima facie, the cause of the death of the tiger appears to be septicaemia. However, the exact cause will be known after a final postmortem report,” it added. The remains of the tiger were cremated.
Meanwhile, an injured tigress that strayed into Bamani village under Nagbhid forest range of Chandrapur was tranquilised and rescued by a forest team, another official said. After entering Bamani village, located around 115 km from the Chandrapur district headquarters, the feline took shelter in a shed owned by a villager, he said.
Some villagers spotted the tigress and alerted officials of the Nagbhid forest range. A rescue team rushed to the spot on Monday and tranquilised the tigress, Chief Conservator of Forests, Chandrapur, S V Ramarao said.
“No one was injured during the rescue operation. The tigress, which was earlier injured, has now been shifted to the Gorewada Rescue Centre in Nagpur,” Ramarao said..
